DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Tramon Mark hit a fadeaway jumper from just inside the 3-point line with 1.1 seconds left, and Texas survived a late rally to beat N.C. State 68-66 on Tuesday night in a First Four matchup of power conference teams that limped into March Madness.
Mark scored 17 points to lead the Longhorns (19-14), who had lost five of six entering the NCAA Tournament. Texas moved into the bracket as the No. 11 seed in the West region and will face sixth-seeded BYU on Thursday night in Portland, Oregon.
“When you lose the last couple, what you don’t want is a continuation of holding on to those negative feelings,” Longhorns coach Sean Miller said. “It was not easy. We practiced a couple days not knowing if we were in the tournament, took a couple days off. We came up here with a clear mind, a good spirit.”
The Longhorns led 62-53 on Chendall Weaver’s two free throws with 2:56 left, but the Wolfpack (20-14) — who also lost five of six before getting sent to Dayton — scored 10 points in a span of 1:12. Paul McNeil Jr. hit two 3s before Mark beat the shot clock with a fadeaway.
Darrion Williams connected from deep to get N.C. State within one. The Wolfpack then forced a turnover by Dailyn Swain, and Tre Holloman made one of two free throws to tie it at 66-all.
Texas ran down most of the game clock before Mark connected from 19 feet, and N.C. State couldn’t get a shot off before the buzzer.
“This one is definitely a first for me, just the way the game was going, the way the game felt,” Mark said. “We had a big lead; they started making some shots. Then I was able to silence the crowd with a big shot like that.”
Mark finished with 17 points, Matas Vokietaitis scored 15 and Swain added 13 for the Longhorns. Weaver had his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Williams led the Wolfpack with 21 points. Quadir Copeland scored 16 and McNeil finished with 11.
“You are who you are in pressure moments,” Wolfpack coach Will Wade said. “We tried to mask some stuff and we couldn’t do it. That’s why we’re here, and that’s why we’re heading home.”
It was the second meeting this season between the schools. Texas beat N.C. State 102-97 on Nov. 26 to claim fifth place in the Maui Invitational. Tuesday night’s game was more of a defensive struggle.
The Longhorns built a 25-15 lead but then went scoreless over the final 4:06 of the first half. The Wolfpack finished the half on a 14-5 run to cut their deficit to 30-29 at halftime.
Deja vu
Swain played for Xavier under Miller in last year’s First Four when the Musketeers beat the Longhorns in a similarly tight game, 86-80. Miller took the Texas job five days later and Swain followed him to Austin.
“Same feeling, two great games, two games I also didn’t play my best in,” Swain said. “I don’t know if it’s the arena or what, but we all kept our composure. They hit really tough shots and Coach Miller calmed us down like, hey, we’re going to win this game.”
Retool
N.C. State is facing another offseason rebuild via the transfer portal with seven seniors on the roster.
“Well, they’re disappointed, and we’ll certainly help them as they move forward,” Wade said. “Our focus is going to turn to making sure we get the right guys to come in and help us win in the future.”
Up next
Texas is the third school Miller has taken to March Madness, and he’ll have to devise a plan to contain one of the best players in the country, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa.
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AP March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness